Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
A HARD RAINE
Nail-biting victory over stubborn Carrick keeps Oran’s Bannsiders in touch with leaders Linfield
COLERAINE manager Oran Kearney was a relieved man after Aaron Canning’s 77th minute winner against Carrick Rangers kept them on the heels of Linfield.
It was a crucial victory for the Bannsiders, keeping them eight points behind the leaders with two games in hand.
A gracious Kearney doffed his cap in the direction of a battling Carrick side, stating: “Any time we’ve played against them, it’s always been hard-fought.
“In recent weeks, they’ve had a tough run of games, played a lot of the top-six teams, but they came here with a real mindset, character and graft to stay in the game.
“They slowed the game down, which made it tougher for us and that led to our frustration. It didn’t look like a goal was coming until
Snowy (Canning) produced a good finish.”
Rangers chief Niall Currie (inset) said: “I thought we dealt with Coleraine fantastically well. We caused them as many problems as they caused us.”
Elsewhere on Saturday Portadown recorded a similar 1-0 win on the road at Dungannon Swifts, while Glentoran saw off visitors Glenavon with the help of a Jay Donnelly brace in their 3-1 win at the Oval. (SEE PAGES 2&3) At Inver Park, Larne and Cliftonville played out a goaless draw, while in the late Saturday evening kickoff Ballymena United and Warrenpoint also shared the spoils in a game that saw the Point’s Brandon Doyle come off the bench to score what looked a likely winner in the 85th minute only for Ryan Waide to spoil the party two minutes later with a fine equaliser – his first goal for the club.